LAKE ELSINORE: Women flee from 5-vehicle crash on 74 (UPDATE 3)

Two women in a car driving the wrong way on Highway 74 east of Lake Elsinore early Wednesday, March 23, were involved in a five-vehicle crash, then fled on foot, according to the CHP.

They remained at large Wednesday evening.

The crash was reported about 4:40 a.m. on Highway 74 near Wasson Canyon Road. The women going the wrong direction were in a gray sedan. Three other passenger vehicles and a big-rig were involved, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Ron Thatcher. He didn't have specifics on how the crash was caused.

One vehicle was sent into the ditch, another into a field, and the big-rig was left blocking eastbound lanes, according to a CHP incident log. But nobody was injured, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The big-rig's fuel tank ruptured and about 200 gallons of fuel spilled onto the roadway, Thatcher said. A hazmat crew responded to clean it up.

The highway was closed for several hours in both directions between I-15 and Greenwald Avenue. The final eastbound lane reopened late Wednesday morning.

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